Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Climate and Environmental Governance

UiT The Arctic University of Norway; Norway; On-site; NOK 620,000 - 665,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible hours

Pension scheme

State pay scale

ERC project participation

Job summary

UiT The Arctic University of Norway in Tromsø invites applications for a fixed‑term Postdoctoral Research Fellow position in the ERC RiverPulse project. You will analyse environmental governance across three RiverPulse rivers, contribute to participatory research, and publish findings within an interdisciplinary team spanning humanities, social sciences, and environmental sciences.

The appointment lasts three years, with travel for fieldwork and the start expected by 1 April 2027.

Qualifications

• PhD in political science, governmental studies, environmental governance or related field.
• Demonstrated research expertise in climate, environmental or natural-resource governance.
• Experience with environmental governance, policy or institutions.
• Excellent written and spoken English.

Responsibilities

• Analyse environmental and climate governance across RiverPulse river regions.
• Examine governance arrangements including Indigenous governance and co-management.
• Contribute to participatory research and co-design governance responses.
• Develop analyses and publications within RiverPulse across disciplines.

Skills

English proficiency

Indigenous governance

Co-management experience

Policy analysis

Field-site languages

Education

PhD in political science or environmental governance

Job description

Organisation/Company UiT The Arctic University of Norway Department Department of Language and Culture Research Field Environmental science Researcher Profile Recognised Researcher (R2) Positions Postdoc Positions Application Deadline 15 Nov 2026 - 23:59 (Europe/Oslo) Country Norway Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Hours Per Week 37,5 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

RiverPulse: Reconfiguring human–nature interactions as an assemblage at the Arctic frontline of climate change is an ERC Advanced Grant project at UiT, The Arctic University of Norway. It examines how accelerating climate change transforms Arctic salmon rivers as ecological systems, multispecies environments, lived places and sites of governance. The broader aim is to advance assemblage thinking as an empirically grounded framework for understanding climate change as a crisis of relations and Arctic salmon rivers as assemblages of ecological, social, cultural and political processes.

The project works across three river regions: Reisa in Norway, Tornio in Finland and Sweden, and Kapisillit in Greenland. The communities are multilingual and -cultural, including Sámi and Kalaallit Indigenous communities and Kven and Meänkieli minority contexts. RiverPulse combines ecological and quantitative research with ethnographic, historical, citizen-science and governance approaches to understand how climate-driven changes in rivers and salmon systems reconfigure river–salmon–human relations, knowledge and governance.

RiverPulse is designed as an interdisciplinary research programme, where the announecd postdoctoral research fellow position is one of four positions. Ecological and quantitative evidence will be interpreted alongside qualitative and community-based knowledge, while each researcher retains clear scholarly responsibility for their own area. You will join a team spanning the humanities, social sciences and environmental sciences, with interdisciplinary collaborators and local research assistants across the three river regions.

The position is a fixed term position for a duration of 3years. It is a prerequisite that the applicant can carry out the project over the full course of the employment period. No person may hold more than one fixed term position as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the same institution.

As a Postdoctoral Research Fellow, you will have the opportunity to advance your scientific career and further qualify for academic positions. If you do not already have the educational competence that meets the requirements for an Associate Professor position in Norway, UiT will arrange such competence during the employment period.

The workplace is at UiT in Tromsø, some travel related to the project must be accounted for. You must be able to start in the position by 1. April 2027.

The Department has a very active and diverse research profile, and hosts about 140 employees the majority of which are situated at the Tromsø campus, but some are at the Alta campus. There are about 500 students at the department.

The project/position's field of research

We are recruiting four postdoctoral research fellows with complementary expertise. Each position has its own research question and responsibilities, while all four fellows will contribute to the interdisciplinary work of RiverPulse across ecological, social, cultural and political processes. Previous Arctic or northern research experience is an advantage, but it is not generally required. We welcome applications from candidates who can explain how their expertise can contribute to RiverPulse. You are not expected to arrive as an expert in every method or discipline used in the project

In addition to their position-specific research responsibilities (please see below), all postdoctoral fellows will contribute to shared RiverPulse activities, including project meetings, workshops and events, research communication and dissemination, and other project-related activities. In addition, theposition involves periods of extended fieldwork in one or several of our research sites.

Your role

You will contribute expertise in climate and environmental governance, with particular responsibility for analysing and comparing existing and emerging forms of river and salmon governance across the three RiverPulse rivers. The focus is on how communities, institutions and other actors govern and negotiate changing river relations in response to climate and environmental change and declining salmon populations. You will also contribute to participatory research and the co-design of future governance practices, drawing where relevant on citizen-science observations and other evidence generated across RiverPulse.

The position addresses the question:

How are changing river relations governed, and how do communities, institutions and other actors negotiate responses to climate change across the three RiverPulse rivers?

Duties of the position

• Analyse environmental and climate governance, community and policy responses to changing river relations across the three river regions.
• Examine and compare different governance arrangements, such as Indigenous governance, rights of the nature, and/or co-management where relevant to the cases.
• Contribute to participatory and collaborative research, community engagement and the co-design of governance responses and future pathways, including the use and interpretation of citizen-science evidence where relevant.
• Develop your own analyses and publications within this positions research area and contribute to comparative RiverPulse outputs.

You must submit a project proposal that describes how you scientifically can contribute tothe project. The proposal must include a progress plan.

Contact

For further information about the position, please contactHead of department Gustav Jørgen Pedersen:

• A PhD in political science, governmental studies, environmental governance, environmental law, public policy, sustainability science or another relevant field.
• Demonstrated research expertise in climate, environmental or natural-resource governance.
• Experience with research relevant to environmental governance, policy or institutions.
• Excellent written and spoken English. Nordic applicants can document their capabilities by attaching their high school diploma.

Preferred qualifications

• Experience with Indigenous governance, commons/commoning or co-management, environmental policy analysis, collaborative or participatory research, co-design, participatory methods, or Arctic environmental governance.
• Competence in one or more RiverPulse field-site languages for community engagement.

Relevant field-site languages are: Reisa – Norwegian, Kven and Northern Sámi; Tornio – Finnish, Swedish and Meänkieli; Kapisillit – Kalaallisut and Danish.

In your application, please describe your level of competence and how you are able to use the language in field research.

Assessment criteria

In assessing your application, we will consider both what you already bring to the position and your potential to develop within RiverPulse. In addition to the specific qualifications, we will place emphasis on:

• the quality and relevance of your research and your research potential;
• your analytical skills, intellectual curiosity and motivation for interdisciplinary research on changing Arctic river systems and communities;
• your understanding of the position you are applying for and of how your expertise can contribute to the wider RiverPulse project;
• your ability to conduct research with scholarly independence within the overall framework of RiverPulse, including developing your own analyses and publications, while contributing actively and constructively to the project’s collaborative interdisciplinary research;
• initiative and openness to engaging with perspectives, methods and forms of knowledge beyond your own disciplinary background;
• communication and interpersonal skills that support a collaborative, inclusive and constructive research environment.

At UiT we put emphasis on the quality, relevance and significance of the research work and not on where the work is published, in accordance with the principles of The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment ( DORA ).

Inclusion and diversity

UiTThe Arctic UniversityiNorway is working actively to promote equality, gender balance and diversity among employees and students, and to create an inclusive and safe working environment. We believe that inclusion and diversity is a strength, and we want employees with different competencies, professional experience, life experience and perspectives.

If you have a disability, a gap in your CV or immigrant background, we encourage you to tick the box for this in your application. If there are qualified applicants, we invite least one in each group for an interview. If you get the job, we will adapt the working conditions if you need it. Apart from selecting the right candidates, we will only use the information for anonymous statistics.

We offer

• Involvement in an interesting research project
• A good academic environment with dedicated colleagues
• Flexible working hours and a state collective pay agreement
• Pension scheme through the state pension fund
• The opportunity to join an ERC Advanced Grant project addressing a major environmental and societal challenge in the Arctic.
• A genuinely interdisciplinary research environment bringing humanities, social sciences and environmental sciences into sustained collaboration.
• A clearly defined research role together with support to develop your own analyses, publications and academic profile within RiverPulse.
• Opportunities to contribute to cutting-edge interdisciplinary research, workshops and wider project activities while building your own research network.
• A collaborative, inclusive and constructive working environment in which different forms of expertise and knowledge are valued.

Norwegian health policy aims to ensure that everyone, irrespective of their personal finances and where they live, has access to good health and care services of equal standard. As an employee you will become member of the National Insurance Scheme which also include health care services .

Please note that the application will only be assessed based on the information submitted by the application deadline via Jobbnorge. It is therefore important that you include all necessary documents demonstrating your qualifications for the position.

Your application should help us understand not only whether you meet the formal criteria, but also how you see yourself contributing to RiverPulse and developing as a researcher within the project. As the working language in the research group is English, CV, motivation letter and preliminary research plan must be submitted in English.

As English is the working language of the research group, CV, application letter, motivation letter and research plan must be written in English.

The 3-page research plan is not expected to be a fully independent project proposal. We want to see how you formulate a coherent line of research of your own within an already defined ERC project, and how you would make use of the opportunities for collaboration that RiverPulse provides.

If RiverPulse speaks to your research interests but your background does not fit every example listed above, we encourage you to show us clearly how your expertise can contribute. The required qualifications define what is required; the preferred qualifications describe strengths that may support the work, not a checklist that every applicant is expected to fulfil.

Note to candidates:We know that no single candidate will bring every kind of experience or expertise listed here, and we do not expect you to. What matters is that you meet the required qualifications, bring a strong perspective of your own, and can see how your work could contribute to RiverPulse. RiverPulse is designed to give you both a clear research role and space to develop new expertise, questions and collaborations as the project progresses. If the position speaks to your research interests, we encourage you to apply.

If you’re at the final stages of your PhD, you may still apply if you have submitted your PhD thesis for doctoral degree evaluation within the application deadline. You must submit the thesis with your application.Documentation of your completed PhD degree must be submitted before commencement.

All documentation to be considered must be in a Scandinavian language or English.If English proficiency is not documented in the application, it must be documented before starting in the position.

Assessment

The applicants will be assessed by an expert committee. The committee's mandate is to undertake an assessment of the applicants' qualifications based on the written material presented by the applicants, and the detailed description draw up for the position. A copy of the assessment report will be sent to all applicants.

The applicants who are assessed as best qualified will be called to an interview. The interview should among other things, aim to clarify the applicant’s motivation and personal suitability for the position. A trial lecture may also be held.

The remuneration for Postdoctoralresearch fellowis in accordance with the State salary scale code 1352 with a gross annual salary ranging from NOK 620 000,- to 665.100,- (in a 100% position). (In special cases, a higher salary may be considered.) A compulsory contribution of 2 % to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund will be deducted. You will become a member of the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund, which gives you many benefits in addition to a lifelong pension. Read more about your employee benefits at: spk.no .

The successful candidate must be willing to get involved in the ongoing development of their department and the university as a whole.

According to the Norwegian Freedom and Information Act (Offentleglova) information about the applicant may be included in the public applicant list, also in cases where the applicant has requested non-disclosure.

In case of discrepancies between the Norwegian and the English version of this description, the Norwegian version takes precedence.

Eallju - Developing the High North

UiT The Arctic University of Norway is an internationally leading broad-based university. Our vision is to be a driving force in the North. The Northern Sami term eallju, which means diligence, sets the tone for UiT's drive. Together with students, staff, and society at large, we will utilize our location in Northern Norway and Sápmi, our academic breadth, and interdisciplinary advantages to shape the future.

UiT has approximately 18,000 students, more than 4,000 employees, and is established across four main campuses and seven additional study locations in Northern Norway and on Svalbard. Our largest campuses are Tromsø, Alta, Narvik, and Harstad. UiT has seven faculties, 40 departments and centers, and leading research environments in various fields. The university offers 269 study programs and focuses on educational quality.

Academic freedom, scientific principles, and research ethics form the foundation of all UiT's activities. Participation, co-determination, transparency, and sound processes will provide the basis for making wise and forward-looking decisions. Our students and staff will have the opportunity to develop their abilities and potential. Rooted in scientific integrity, we aim to be bold, engaged, and generous - closely connected to academia, people, and contemporary developments.